Plagues, by Christopher Wills (Flamingo, £8.99 in UK)

Whether it's a flea bitten old plague like bubonic or a glamorous new one like ebola, Christopher Wills puts it under the microscope in this study, which sets out not just to relive the great plagues of the past but to foretell the unknown ones of the future. Wills's theory is that plagues are caused by human ignorance or wilful destruction of delicate ecosystems; but bacteria are just as wilful, as his detailed tracking of the mechanisms by means of which they subvert the natural order of things demonstrates only too clearly. He will reassure you on some matters, such as antibiotic resistance, and scare the bejasus out of you on others, like the prospect of animal plagues which make mad cow disease look like a dose of the snuffles. A fascinating topic, but the biological bits are tough going.